stockrowWhat it does
Ingredion makes ingredients from corn and other plant materials for companies that manufacture foods, beverages, animal nutrition products and industrial goods. Founded in 1959 and headquartered in Westchester, it is led by Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer James P. Zallie.
Its main products are starches and sweeteners. Food manufacturers use its starches to change properties such as texture, freshness and stability. Its sweeteners can add sweetness as well as body and other functional properties. The company also makes protein ingredients from yellow peas, sells corn oil and animal feed products, and combines ingredients into customized blends.
Industrial customers use its starches in paper and packaging, adhesives, construction materials, textiles and other products. Brewers use some of its syrups and starches in production. Ingredion sells directly to manufacturers and distributors, with salespeople and technical staff helping customers use its ingredients.
The business has a global Texture & Healthful Solutions segment and two regional Food & Industrial Ingredients segments, one serving Latin America and the other the U.S. and Canada. Its other businesses include sugar reduction and protein fortification. Ingredion had approximately 11,200 employees as of December 31, 2025.
How it makes money
Ingredion earns revenue by processing plant materials into ingredients and selling them to manufacturers and distributors. Its products range from relatively standard starches and sweeteners to customized formulations that provide texture or nutritional properties. Processing also produces corn oil and feed products that the company sells to other customers.
Texture & Healthful Solutions serves customers globally with ingredients including modified and native starches, clean-label texturizers and customized formulations. These ingredients provide more functionality and achieve higher average selling prices than the company’s other products. The two Food & Industrial Ingredients segments manufacture starches, sweeteners and co-products for local markets in Latin America and the U.S. and Canada. The remaining businesses include stevia and other sugar-reduction ingredients and pea protein.
Contracts can be spot sales, firm-priced agreements or fee-based agreements. Under firm pricing, Ingredion bears the risk of changes in input costs during the contract period. Fee-based contracts adjust selling prices for raw-material costs and transfer that underlying risk to customers. Most multi-year contracts are fee-based. Ingredion said in the third quarter of 2026 that most of its U.S./Canada Food & Industrial Ingredients business was under multi-year contracts with large customers.
Net sales were $7.2 billion in 2025 and $1.8 billion in the third quarter of 2026.
Starches represented 50 percent and sweeteners 34 percent of net sales in 2025. Sales in 2025 declined as volumes fell in both regional Food & Industrial Ingredients segments and lower raw-material costs were passed through in prices. Third-quarter 2026 sales declined 1% from the prior year, or rose 2% excluding the Pakistan divestiture.
Customers and how it sells
Ingredion serves food, beverage, brewing, animal nutrition and industrial customers. Food applications include baked goods, snacks, dairy products, condiments and prepared foods; industrial uses include paper, packaging, textiles and pharmaceuticals. In 2025, approximately 58 percent of net sales came from the food industry. No customer or group of related customers accounted for 10 percent or more of net sales in 2025, 2024 or 2023.
The company sells through its own regional sales teams to manufacturers and distributors. Technical staff support the sales force, and Ingredion also works with customers on specific applications in customer facilities, its own labs and other locations. Bulk deliveries generally use contracted trucking companies, with rail also used for longer distances in North America.
Texture & Healthful Solutions manufactures in the U.S., Canada, Asia-Pacific and Europe and serves global and regional customers. The Latin American segment supplies local food and industrial markets from Mexico and South America; its brewing customers include businesses in Mexico and Brazil. The U.S./Canada segment serves local food and industrial markets. Ingredion sold its majority stake in its Pakistan business at the end of the second quarter of 2026.
Suppliers and costs
Corn is Ingredion’s primary raw material. It also uses tapioca, potato, rice, stevia, yellow peas and other plant inputs. U.S. operations buy U.S.-grown corn; operations elsewhere use local supplies and imports. Most Mexican and Colombian operations import corn from the U.S., while other South American operations generally buy corn locally.
Most manufacturing uses a capital-intensive process that separates starch-based materials and then processes the starch into ingredients. Ingredion had 41 active manufacturing facilities as of December 31, 2025. Purchased corn and other raw materials generally account for between 40 percent and 60 percent of finished product costs; energy represented approximately 9 percent in 2025. Specialty grains cost more and require advance planning because their supply is more limited.
Ingredion uses derivatives to hedge corn costs for firm-priced contracts, although hedging can result in losses. In the third quarter of 2026, the company said its tapioca costs were up approximately 65% versus last year after a Thai root shortage. It said it was recovering those costs through pricing with an approximate one-quarter lag.
- Revenue$7.2B
- Cost of revenue−$5.4B
- Other operating costs−$812.0M
- Operating income$1.0B
Competitive position
Ingredion competes on price, quality, availability and product functionality. Its Texture & Healthful Solutions business faces Archer-Daniels-Midland, Tate & Lyle, Cargill and Roquette globally, as well as smaller local processors in some markets. In U.S. and Canadian starches and sweeteners, competitors include Archer-Daniels-Midland, Cargill and Primient. In Mexico, ALMEX competes locally, while Cargill has starch processing operations in Brazil and Argentina.
The company’s corn sweeteners also compete with cane and beet sugar products, and its corn oil and feed co-products compete with other oils and meals. Prices of those competing products can affect Ingredion’s prices and profits. Ingredion is pursuing an acquisition of Tate & Lyle, subject to regulatory reviews and other closing conditions.
Ingredion collaborates with customers on formulations and owns patents and proprietary know-how. It does not consider any individual patent, related patent group or trademark material to its business. Its manufacturing and distribution network also serves customers locally and globally.
Our reading: Customer formulation work and specialized ingredients offer some differentiation, but the evidence does not establish a strong protection against competing suppliers. Our reading: Manufacturing scale and local delivery capabilities support its position, although competition on price and substitute ingredients limits their protective value.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Archer-Daniels-Midland Company | Global specialty ingredients and U.S./Canada starches and sweeteners | High |
| Cargill | Global specialty ingredients and regional starch and sweetener markets | High |
| Tate & Lyle | Global texture and healthful ingredient solutions | Medium |
| Roquette | Global texture and healthful ingredient solutions | Medium |
| Primient | U.S./Canada starches and sweeteners | Medium |
| ALMEX | Food and industrial ingredients in Mexico | Medium |
Growth opportunities
Ingredion is developing ingredients for customers seeking different textures, simpler labels, sugar reduction and added protein. Its research teams work with customers on formulations, and its Texture & Healthful Solutions business sells both individual ingredients and customized solutions. The company also uses a network of toll manufacturers for some ingredients that it finishes through its own channels.
In the third quarter of 2026, Texture & Healthful Solutions recorded its 10th consecutive quarter of net sales volume growth, with volume up 2%. Clean Label Solutions sales were up 8% year-to-date. Ingredion said its clean-label project pipeline was equal to more than a third of the prior year’s clean-label sales, with new capacity coming online.
Ingredion has agreed to acquire Tate & Lyle. It expects the combination to add mouthfeel and fiber capabilities alongside its protein offerings, helping it address more of a customer’s formulation needs. Tate & Lyle shareholders approved the transaction in July; Ingredion is working through regulatory and antitrust reviews and targets a close in the second half of 2027. Completion remains subject to the required clearances and other conditions.
The company also secured a multi-year brewing agreement in Brazil and consolidated production after closing its Cabo facility. Its 2026 priorities include improving Argo’s costs and rebuilding customer volumes in the U.S. and Canada.
- $6.9BFY2021
- $7.9BFY2022
- $8.2BFY2023
- $7.4BFY2024
- $7.2BFY2025
Structural risks
- Input costs and supply: Corn, tapioca and other agricultural inputs can become more costly or scarce because of weather, disease and supply disruptions. Ingredion may not be able to recover increases through customer pricing, and hedging can produce losses.
- Changing demand: Consumers may favor products perceived as healthier or with simpler labels. Customers may respond by reformulating, reducing volumes or replacing Ingredion ingredients. Weight-loss medications could also reduce food and beverage consumption.
- Plant reliability: Extended operating difficulties can prevent Ingredion from fulfilling orders and increase expenses. At Argo, production stabilized in 2026, but the company said lower yields and higher maintenance costs continued to affect financial recovery.
- Competition and substitutes: Similar products from other ingredient makers, and substitutes such as cane and beet sugar, can pressure prices and profits. Some competitors have greater financial resources or vertically integrated operations.
- International exposure: Currency moves, trade policies, geopolitical disruption and transportation costs can affect operations. Ingredion said the stronger Mexican peso raised costs in its dollar-denominated Mexico business, where most operating expenses are in pesos.
- Transaction execution: Acquisitions and divestitures can face regulatory delays, unexpected costs or integration difficulties. The planned Tate & Lyle acquisition remains under regulatory and antitrust review.
Bottom line
Our reading
Ingredion is an ingredient manufacturer with both locally supplied starch and sweetener businesses and a global specialty-solutions business that works with customers on formulations (item1). Its exposure to crop costs, plant reliability and consumer demand sits alongside fee-based contracts and a broad manufacturing network (item1, item1a, call_prepared). The planned Tate & Lyle acquisition could expand its formulation capabilities, but remains subject to review and closing conditions (call_prepared, facts).